first day at motorland mikawa in the new car xxx

You might remember a few weeks ago some videos going viral from Nakamura Naoki’s newest S15 being tested for the first time. Being there and driving with Keisuke, Jamie and Nishio I decided to have a small break when Naoki and Miki showed up just to get some shots of the car prior being loaded to Australia for this years WTAC drift challenge next week in Sydney Australia in which he will be competing in. The initial plan was to head down to Okayama Prefecture to Bihoku Highland Circuit so the car could get up to speed and under some pressure properly however due to the multiple typhoons that hit Honshu over the last few months it was Motorland Suzuka that managed to stay mostly dry.

The newly painted S15 chassis – a 3 color fade painted by Naoki himself welcoming red up front for his newest and largest sponsor VALINO tires fading into pink and purple for the true N-Style feel. This is the same body that he has previously been driving in such as Kansai All Stars in 2017 etc. A few months prior to this day the SR20DET was removed and a 1000HP T88 2JZ that was purchased straight out of a Toyota Aristo, backed up with a holinger gearbox all tuned and set by Garage REMS.

Enjoy the images

This was the first time Nishio from Otokichi Family in Mie had seen the car also.

Shane Bingham from Stacked Inc always by Naoki’s side helping wherever and whenever he can maintain and prep cars.

A strong combination of grippy Valino tires, soft and forgiving Stance coilovers and Naoki’s insanely aggressive, snappy driving this car  lifting wheels off the ground everywhere.

Apart from a water hose popping off after 3-4 sessions and whatever tires were bought there car was somewhat faultless. I have been shooting and spectating Naoki drive for around 8-9 years now and this was one of the fastest and grippiest cars I have probably seen run, period. I wish him all the best at WTAC! If you didn’t get a glimpse of the videos check them out on the SHIRTSTUCKEDIN instagram x

drift team SEXY KNIGHTS in motorland mikawa x

モーターランド三河愛知県 x

On my last trip our first destination drift orientated was a little circuit known as Motorland Suzuka, which of course is located in Suzuka. You might remember my little post on our late night journey from Osaka to Suzuka, if not check it out here. On arrival we were greeted by the track owner and officials and 3 AE86’s, this one really caught my eye, however we arrived a little late and missed out on seeing it in action.

After the drifting had finished I was lucky enough to get all 3 AE86’s on the track for a feature, you might remember seeing them on Speedhunters. In saying that, I never posted any of this subtle one. Up front were a perfect sized pair of SSR Mark II’s.

Under the bonnet was still the standard 4-AGE 16 valve.

The interior had it’s rear end stripped out and filled with tires, a full roll cage and a deep corne Nardi steering wheel.

On the rear were a pair of 14″ Watanabe’s which I think were still on from drifting earlier that day.

Was very happy I got the opportunity to shoot such a authentic Japanese automobile on a little short and tight circuit in the forest.

Continuing sorting through more photos from Motorland Suzuka I came across this particular one of TJ Waldon in his HotRoad Type X RPS13, this image could almost sum up why I love the Motorland circuit as much as I do, the surroundings and the amount of trees and natural things you have to work with is absolutely awesome. It took a few attempts to get this photo as the camera had a few focus problems with all the trees in the way, but this is pretty close to what I was aiming for.

Sifting through the photos from our first track day in Japan – Motorland Suzuka, I came across this image of John Dollison tucking the ripple strip down the back end of the circuit. One thing I loved about this course was the amount of natural things I could use to enhance and compose my images. I’ve always been a fan of John’s car since I first saw it at last years Autumn Matsuri at Ebisu Circuit, Nihonmatsu. I’m hoping to attend the same Matsuri at the end of this year too.

There are so many different positives to Japanese drifting however I think this is a major. Picture this. Arriving at a tight, short circuit based in the middle of a forest and hearing the high pitched revving of a carbureted 16V in a little hachi-roku. This was our opening drift day at Motorland Suzuka which is based in Suzuka itself, about 2.5 hours drive from Osaka city. The drivers name is Fumihiko Ogita and is in a team with another two AE86’s which goes by the name of Ise ☆ Works. Check out the feature here.